sustainable | WCS Congo Blog

Building a Constituency for Conservation in the Ndoki landscape

Posted on December 10, 2018

Conservation of wildlife requires the active support of local people. Ensuring that families tangibly benefit from the protection of wildlife populations is key to garnering support and building a local constituency for conservation. Finding ways to improve the wellbeing and secure the cultural identity of traditional and Indigenous Peoples is a challenge everywhere. In isolated places like northern Republic of Congo families have limited access...

Sustainable agroforestry two years down the line

Posted on September 8, 2016

by Tim Rayden

This week marks the second anniversary of a collaboration between WCS Batéké Project, and the National Afforestation Service of the Congo’s Forest Ministry. The collaboration was set up in September 2014 to promote alternative livelihoods for the populations living in the periphery of the Lefini Wildlife Reserve in central Congo. ...

A growing engagement

Posted on April 1, 2016

by Tim Rayden

Say 'Congo' and most people will think of thick, impenetrable forests. Few people realise that one third of Congo's surface area is covered by savannah. The WCS Batéké project works in the area around the Lefini reserve in central Congo. Trees cover only about 20% of the landscape, meaning that the wooded areas are increasingly under pressure from a growing human population. The reserve was...

Fishing for change

Posted on March 21, 2016

by Ben Evans

“Mbese, ngolo, nzombo, mbenga…”: Nicolas lifts each fish up in turn, sounding out its rounded Lingala names before adding it to the growing pile in our bright plastic bowl. Finding 10 species in one catch, he says, is normal for this area. WCS-led surveys have so far identified around 170 species of fish from the Sangha River, the great, green ribbon winding through North Congo’s...

Going green in Bambama

Posted on January 27, 2016

by Zanne Labuschagne

The Bambama vegetable growing association in southwestern Congo has been getting some beautiful yields of organic spinach. These crops were harvested from fallow fields that had been deserted due to lack of fertility. Now, with a few changes in farming practices, the community is getting bigger, and better quality yields, than ever before. The Bateke project is piloting a sustainable farming model at several sites...

Sustainable agroforestry

Posted on August 16, 2015

by Diane Detoeuf

Nested in the Batéké Plateau of Southern Congo, the Lefini Wildlife Reserve is surrounded by villages and agricultural land. The reserve is under pressure from unsustainable hunting and demand for fuel wood yet remains a key potential tourism site for the country. On the northern border of the reserve, people living in a small village called Mpoh, well aware of the importance of conservation for...